The orphanage stood tired and forgotten at the end of a narrow block—peeling paint, boarded windows, the scent of neglect in the air.
Jasmine led them through a side entrance. “Adults don’t listen to us here,” she whispered. “We’re invisible.”
The stairs creaked. Daniel’s heart pounded.
Then he heard it.
A small cry.
Megan froze. “That’s them.”
Jasmine nodded and pushed open a narrow door.
Owen and Caleb sat huddled together on thin blankets. Dirty. Thinner. Eyes too large for their faces.
Alive.
Megan collapsed to her knees, a sob tearing from her chest. Daniel dropped beside her, shaking. The boys shrank back at first, hiding behind Jasmine.
“It’s okay,” she murmured to them. “You’re safe.”
Daniel lowered himself to their level. “Owen. Caleb. It’s Daddy.”
For a breathless second, nothing.
Then Owen whispered, “Daddy?”
Recognition flooded his face. He ran forward. Caleb followed, clinging to Megan as if she might vanish again. They cried together on that hard floor, hearts piecing themselves back into place.
Jasmine stood beside them, quiet and watchful.
They didn’t leave immediately. The boys clung to Jasmine just as tightly.
Daniel noticed.
“Be careful,” she said softly later. “There’s more.”